Siddhartha Gotama was a man who lived around 2600 years ago and through his own efforts and insights became the Buddha – the Awakened One. After his attainment of Nibbana at the age of 35, he lived and taught in the Ganges valley of what is today modern India for another 45 years. Whilst only a small fragment of the Teachings he gave are preserved in the Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka, this is still a substantial amount for the contemporary student of Buddhism.
The resident sangha in Western Australia have been giving regular sutta study classes that delve into the meaning of discourses (a.k.a. “suttas”) given by the Lord Buddha and preserved in the Sutta Pitaka (Collection of Discourses) for several decades and have been recording them since 2006. The resources listed below are provided to help lay people and monastics who would like to deepen their understanding of the discourses of the Lord Buddha.
- This website Sutta Teachings has the most up to date catalogue of all sutta study classes in all formats.
- The Deeper Dhamma podcast has a large number of previous sutta study classes recorded, and regularly adds new class. You can find out more about how to subscribe to BSWA podcasts here.
- The Buddhist Society of WA’s YouTube Channel has a collection of recent sutta study classes in video format.
- Read Ajahn Brahm’s Word of the Buddha
- It is recommended that you follow along with these teachings using the publications provided by Wisdom Publications. However, if you cannot access these you can refer to the suttas linked at Sutta Central.